cir. XXV.] Bedouin Love of Money. 209 



great distances, and give himself infinite toil and 

 trouble to acquire a few pieces, the value of which 

 in camels or sheep he would not be at the pains to 

 collect. In like manner a sheykli, wlio would not 

 suffer himself to be tempted by more practical offers 

 of ad^^antage, will often forget his dignity at the 

 sight of coin. It is by trading on this weakness 

 that the Turks have gained many of their " diplo- 

 matic triumplis " in the desert. 



In spite, however, of their love of money the 

 Bedouins are not clever commercially. The offer 

 of buying their property is always a little distasteful 

 to them, in some cases insulting ; and they have 

 no better principle of dealing than to increase the 

 price demanded in strict proportion to the supposed 

 willingness of the purcliaser to buy. It often 

 happens, for this reason, that a horse or a camel, 

 which they begin by refusing to one purcliaser, will 

 afterwards be sold to anotlier at a third of the 

 original price. The commercial spirit, however, 

 differs considerably in the different tribes. The 

 Eeni Sakhr, for instance, though accounted pure 

 Bedouins, are said to be as thorough traders as the 

 Jews themselves ; and, among the Anazeli even, 

 there are well-known commercial tribes. These, 

 however, are not the most esteemed. 



Public opinion, though acknowledging the de- 

 lights of wealth, .always respects a man who is 

 indifferent to them. The great sheykhs are usually 

 liberal of their property, distributing largely among 



